


Second Star to the Right

by shannarocks



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Eddie is Wendy, M/M, Peter Pan AU, Richie is Peter Pan, Slow Burn, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-03-15 11:39:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13612593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shannarocks/pseuds/shannarocks
Summary: “So, how do we get to this ‘Neverland’?” Eddie asked.  Richie grinned down at him and took his hand.“Oh, Eddie Spaghetti, we fly of course.”Or, the night before Eddie Kaspbrak’s 18th birthday a mysterious teenage boy shows up at his bedroom window.  Peter Pan AU.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> "To live will be an awfully big adventure."

Eddie Kaspbrak was envious of kids who left home at age eighteen. The ones who moved out and went off to college or left to travel the world. He was even jealous of the ones who were kicked out without a cent to their names and sent off to fend for themselves in the world. There were times when he wished his mother would simply kick him out of the house, tell him he needed to get a job and learn what it was like to work for a living. There were also times when he thought about applying to a college halfway across the country, one that would be a day or two drive away from his mother and his small hometown of Derry, Maine. 

But he knew that would never happen. His mother wouldn’t let it. 

Tomorrow was Eddie’s eighteenth birthday. He would legally be an adult, a ‘grown-up’, as one might say. He would legally be allowed to vote, to rent his own apartment, to buy cigarettes or even porn, if he wanted to. Most teenagers countdown the days until they turn eighteen, but Eddie Kaspbrak just didn’t see the point.

Sonia Kaspbrak was a stubborn, controlling woman who loved and cherished nothing more in this world than her son. And despite Eddie’s protests and plea’s for her to allow him to move out and live on his own, she shot him down during every attempt.

“It’s too dangerous for you out there, Eddie-bear,” she would say. “People outside of Derry are mean and cruel and there are far too many germs and diseases.”

“But, mommy, I’ll be careful,” he would reply timidly. “I-I would be sure to wash my hands in public bathrooms, and I would always keep my inhaler on me like you tell me to.”

Sonia would chuckle softly in response, shuffling her obese frame over to him to run her meaty fingers through his hair gently. She was still taller than him, even now, and about 100 pounds heavier. 

“Eddikins, am I not enough for you?” She would ask accusingly, eyes darkening. “Have I not done enough for you? I am just trying to keep you safe. And you belong right here at home, where I can make sure that you are.”

“No, mom, that’s not it. I-I just want to know what it’s like out in the world. I want to see other places and meet new people. I would still come home to visit. I-I would call you every night, I promise,” he would tell her, plead with her.

“The only people you need are right here, Eddie-bear. The world is a scary, dreadful place,” she would insist. And a part of him believed her when she said it. A piece of him believed that the world _was_ full of bad people and awful, deadly disease and sickness. But still, he couldn’t help but wonder.

He would often lay awake in his bed at night, gazing out his bedroom window at the stars and wonder if he would ever make it out of his mother’s house. Maybe one day, he would think grimly, when her weight finally got the best of her.

But there was something that seemed to burn inside him on this night, the day before his eighteenth birthday. He had rushed through dinner with his mother and turned her down when she asked if he wanted to watch the latest episode of _Cheers_. As he scrambled up the stairs to his bedroom he realized that he didn’t know exactly what he was rushing for. He was just going to go to bed, after all. 

He made sure to take the three different pills his mother had laid out for him in the bathroom and brush his teeth before changing into a set of clean pajamas and climbing into bed. He wasn’t tired at all, he realized. In fact, Eddie felt like he could run a mile, two even (which was pretty good for an asthmatic). He stared at the clock on his bedside table. 9:30pm. In just two and a half hours he was going to be a grown-up, and the thought of hitting such a big milestone had him buzzing with energy. He just wished his mother could acknowledge it too.

As he lie awake staring at the ceiling something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye, startling him. There was something large and black moving against his bedroom wall. He quickly rolled onto his side to see what it was, but the shape was gone. 

Anxiously, he sat up in his bed and glanced around the room. His bedroom door was cracked open and the light from the hallway cast a soft glow on the wall next to it. The large shape, whatever it had been, was nowhere in sight. He took a deep breath and was about to lie back down when he saw something move again out of his peripherals.

Slowly, a large shadow crept onto the wall of his bedroom. A shadow of a person, a _boy_ , it seemed.

“Hello?” he whispered quietly to the shadow, “Is someone there?”

The shadow waved at him. 

Eddie yelped and pulled his blanket up over his mouth and nose, leaving only the top of his head peeking out. He turned and glanced behind him, then turned to look out into the hallway. He couldn’t see anyone.

“Who’s there?” he asked.

The shadow moved again, it’s outline clear and distinct. It raised a hand and pointed a finger at itself, as if to say, _me, of course._ Then, before Eddie could say anything else, the shadow began to dance, moving animatedly along the wall of his bedroom, twirling and leaping, a mess of long, lanky limbs and curly hair.

Eddie smiled slightly, amused, and chuckled to himself. 

“Well, I guess you aren’t here to murder me in my sleep then, are you?” he asked the silhouette.

The shadow stopped dancing for a moment and shook its head before launching back into its dance routine. It was in the middle of twirling like a ballerina, arms arched above its head, when Eddie heard something hit his bedroom window.

The shadow froze mid pirouette before rushing along the edge of the wall and disappearing into the light of the hallway.

There was another tap on the window. Eddie hesitated, looking back at where the shadow had been, before getting out of bed and shuffling towards the window. He unlatched the lock and slid the window open, popping his head out to overlook the roof below. 

“Hello there!” a voice said happily to his right.

Eddie screamed and fell backwards onto his bottom, hitting the carpeted floor with a soft thud.

“Eddie-bear!” he heard his mother call from downstairs. “Is everything alright?”

He looked back up at the window and a boy, no older than himself, popped his head in and waved at him. Eddie studied him carefully. He was tall, with dark curly hair and black rimmed glasses. He was wearing an absurdly colorful hawaiian print shirt and a pair baggy jeans with a slingshot sticking out of the left pants pocket. He was carrying a small backpack over his shoulders, as if he was going somewhere.

“Eddiekins!” Sonia called again from downstairs.

“I’m fine, mom!” Eddie shouted and got to his feet, “Just saw a spider!” He turned towards the boy outside his window. “Who are you?” he asked.

The boy shoved a hand through the window and held it out for Eddie to shake.

“Richie Tozier,” he said proudly, “nice to meet ya.” 

Eddie reached out carefully and shook the boys hand, which seemed to envelope his own smaller one. 

“Um, I’m Eddie,” he replied, “What are you doing outside my bedroom window?”

Richie grinned and climbed through the window with a surprising grace given how tall he was. Eddie backed up slightly as the boy moved towards him. He didn’t seem all that scary really, but he was still a stranger. Eddie’s mother had always told him to be wary of strangers.

“Well, Eds,” Richie said. “I seem to have lost my shadow. You haven’t seen it, have you?” He asked the question as if he already knew the answer, eyeing Eddie up and down suspiciously.

“Um, yeah, it was uh, over there,” Eddie answered, gesturing to the wall behind him. 

Richie nodded and pushed past him, making his way over to the wall. Eddie watched in confusion as Richie crouched down and began to run his hand along it like he was searching for something.

“Aha!” Richie shouted. “Gotcha!” He raised a closed fist up and Eddie watched in amazement as the shadow that was dancing just minutes ago was projected up onto the wall again, rising up out of seemingly nothing. Richie had it by the collar and it was squirming around in his grasp.

“He always gets away from me, this one,” Richie said as he shrugged his backpack off of his shoulders. He grabbed the zipper in between his teeth and opened the bag. “Back in ya go,” he said and crammed the shadow, which seemed far too large to fit, into the backpack with practised ease. He zipped up the bag and threw it back over his shoulder.

“Your shadow, it...moves?” Eddie asked him. Richie stood and turned to face him.

“Of course it does,” he replied. “Doesn’t yours?” Eddie stared at him helplessly.

“Uh, I...I don’t think so?” he said. Richie shrugged in response and walked to the window. 

“Well,” he started, “thanks for all your help, Eds, but I must be on my way.” Richie threw one leg over the window sill and began to climb out, back onto the roof.

“Wait!” Eddie called. “Where are you going?”

Richie turned back to face him and smiled. “To Neverland, of course.”

“Neverland?” Eddie asked. “Where is that?”

“It’s where I live,” Richie said. “There’s pirates and treasure maps and all kinds of adventures.”

“Pirates?” Eddie asked, eyes widening.

“Oh yeah,” Richie replied, pulling his leg back inside. “A real mean one too, named Henry Bowers. My friends and I always try to stay out his way.”

“Friends?” Eddie asked with wonder. He had never had any friends, not real ones anyway, who you hung out with outside of school and had sleepovers with.

“Yeah, there’s Bill, Ben, Stan, Mike, and Bev. I call them the Lost Boys,” he said thoughtfully. “Well...not Bev of course. She’s a girl, or well, a fairy.”

“A fairy?” Eddie replied, shaking his head in disbelief. “There’s no such thing as fairies.”

“Oh,” Richie smirked, raising an eyebrow at him. “But you believe in Pirates, huh?

Eddie blushed and looked down at the floor. He didn’t know why he felt so embarrassed. He wasn’t the one climbing into a stanger’s bedroom rambling on about shadows and pirates and fairies. He looked up at Richie again, who was perched idly in the window, exuding an air of life and confidence that Eddie had never seen before. He seemed wise beyond his years for someone so young. He wasn’t dangerous, like Eddie’s mother seemed to think all strangers were, just...different. New.

“Do you...think I could come with you?” Eddie asked Richie shyly. “To...Neverland?”

Richie broke into a wide grin. “I thought you’d never ask, Eds.”

Eddie smiled and stared back at him. There was a long pause.

“Well, come on then,” Richie said, gesturing outside. “Let’s go.”

Eddie scrambled over to his closet and grabbed a jacket. He quickly slid on his sneakers and stuffed his inhaler in his pocket. He turned back to Richie.

“What about my mom?” he asked, knowing that Sonia would call the police and file a missing person’s report if she woke up and he wasn’t in his bed.

Richie smiled at him softly. “Don’t worry,” he stated. “We’ll be back before she even knows you’re gone.”

Eddie climbed out of the window, steadying himself as his feet hit the slanted roof below. Richie seemed unfazed by the angle, standing tall and proud.

“So, how do we get to this ‘Neverland’?” Eddie asked. Richie grinned down at him and took his hand. 

“Oh, Eddie Spaghetti, we fly of course.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.”

Eddie stood on the rooftop, looking down at the streets below. Derry was a fairly big town, a small city almost, and from his rooftop he could just barely see downtown in the distance. He could make out the shape of the large catholic church he and his mother attended, looming over several smaller buildings. He could also see main street, which, at this time of night, had but a few cars on it, their headlights shining bright in the night sky.

“Fly?” he questioned. “Like, on an airplane? Because I don’t have the money for-”

Richie laughed. “No, silly. We _fly_. Like this.”

Slowly, Richie began to rise off of his feet and into the air, laying flat on his tummy, arms stretched out beside him, as he rose higher and higher into the sky until he was level with the tops of the trees. Eddie’s mouth dropped open in disbelief.

“You-your flying!” he gasped. “How are you doing that?”

Richie smiled mischievously and flew back down towards Eddie. He hovered just above Eddie’s face, their noses nearly touching. Up close, Eddie could see the freckles that were scattered along his sharp cheekbones, hidden just underneath his glasses. He took both of Eddie’s hands into his own and looked into his eyes gently.

“Close your eyes,” he said softly. Eddie let his eyes flutter shut. “I want you to think of something that makes you happy. Something that creates butterflies in your stomach, that makes you feel like you can do anything in the world.”

Eddie found that he couldn’t really think of anything in particular. The last few happy memories he had were from long ago, when he was a small child and his father was still alive. He hadn’t felt happiness for quite some time. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter. He could feel Richie’s breath on his cheeks, his large hands holding his own, strong and warm. It felt...nice. It made something in the pit of his stomach stir.

“Open your eyes,” Richie instructed. Eddie did as told, and somehow, as he stared back into Richie’s brown eyes, he felt his feet begin to slowly lift up off the rooftop.

“That’s it, Spaghetti,” Richie said, smiling wide. Eddie looked down at the ground below him as he rose up higher, gripping tightly to Richie’s hand.

“I-I’m flying!” he shouted joyfully. “I can fly!”

Richie laughed heartily. “Of course you can, Eds.”

They flew away from the Kaspbrak house, up over the treetops. Eddie could see the Barrens down below, where he had spent most of his summers alone playing in the woods, building dams and forts out of branches and sticks. He could see the large statue of Paul Bunyan in the center of town, the one he used to stare up at as a child, fearing that it would come alive and step on him like a bug. From up here with Richie though, the statue seemed so _small_ , just a blip on their radar.

“This way!” Richie shouted and tugged on his hand, guiding them towards the large Standpipe that pumped water to various parts of Derry. They began to slow and floated gently down to the top of the water tower. Richie plopped down on it dramatically, sprawling himself out on his back and staring up at the stars. Eddie sat down next to him, enjoying the calm silence of the night.

A part of him wondered if his mother had gone upstairs to check on him. If she was running around frantic at the sight of his empty bed. A part of him didn’t really care. There was something about being with Richie that quelled all of his worries, that made him feel fearless. It was a strange feeling, one that he only felt briefly as a young child, adventuring in the woods, playing make-believe.

“Are you magic?” Eddie asked, looking over at Richie’s lanky frame. He certainly looked like a normal teenage boy, Eddie thought, but normal boys didn’t carry their shadows around in a backpack. Normal boys couldn’t _fly_.

Richie turned to him and winked. “Something like that,” he said crossing his arms behind his head.

Eddie looked out over the town. He could just make out the hands of the clock on the church. _10:38pm._

“Tomorrow is my 18th birthday,” he announced. Richie sat up abruptly, eyes wide behind his glasses.

“Well, good thing we’re heading to Neverland, then.”

“Why?” Eddie asked, brows furrowing. 

“Because, Eddie Spaghetti, in Neverland, nobody ever grows up.” Richie stated it simply, as if it was common knowledge. Eddie thought about this for a moment. The thought of staying seventeen forever, of living in his mother’s house forever.

“What if I want to grow up?” he countered.

For the first time that night, Richie looked at him sharply, eyes darkening with hurt and betrayal. 

“Why on earth would you want _that_?” he spat, rising to his feet and looming over Eddie. “Why would anyone want to ‘grow-up’?”

“Well, everybody has to eventually, don’t they?” he replied, standing up to face Richie. “How old are you? My age? You’ll be an adult soon too.”

Richie studied him carefully, an odd look on his face. They were silent for a few moments before Richie’s shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh.

“Do you still want to come?” he asked Eddie.

Eddie thought about going back home now, about turning around and walking back to his house, back to his bedroom, back to his boring life and overbearing mother. Did he still want to go with this strange, mysterious boy? What would his mother say? 

“Yes,” he answered firmly, meeting Richie’s eyes. “I still want to come.” 

Richie grinned and turned to look up at the stars. He pointed to one in particular, shining just a bit brighter than the others. “See that one there,” he said. “Second star to the right, and straight on ‘til morning.”

“Huh?” Eddie asked.

“To get to Neverland,” he explained. He took Eddie’s hand in his own once more and then they were off, flying among the stars once again.

“Whatever happens, Eds,” Richie began, holding back a grin. “Don’t let go.”

*** 

It felt like they were flying for hours, days even. Eddie didn’t mind it at first, there was so much to look at it, but now they were flying over the ocean, and he was beginning to feel tired, his eyelids heavy with sleep. He wondered what would happen if he just dozed off for a couple minutes.

“Stay awake, Spaghetti, we’re almost there,” Richie prompted, giving him a nudge to his ribcage. “Look, there, can you see it?”

Eddie squinted, looking out over the still of the ocean. He could see the faint glow of the sun coming up over the horizon, and just beneath it a small outline of an island. 

“How much further?” he asked.

“Oh, am I going to slow for you, Eds?” Richie grinned. “I thought you’d like taking the scenic route, but we can certainly speed things up.”

Eddie’s eyes widen. “No, no, slow is fine. Slow is _good_.”

Richie didn’t listen. He kicked off with his feet and then they were flying at warp speed through the air. Eddie could feel his heart begin to race as the wind blew his hair back. They were approaching the island at a rapid pace now, and he could see the beautiful, white sand beach that lined the coast. Just behind it there were rows of trees that lead into a wild jungle, and even further behind that Eddie could see three large mountains on each end of the island, a large valley between them. It was beautiful, without a doubt, but there was a light fog settled over it, giving it a mysterious, almost dangerous glow.

“Home sweet home!” Richie shouted, and began speeding up even faster. Eddie felt his stomach twist and his head become dizzy with vertigo. His heart rate picked up even more and he started letting out quick, shallow breaths. They were going too fast. He was beginning to panic.

“R-Richie,” he gasped out. Richie didn’t hear him.

They were almost at the edge of the island now, and they began to descend, but Richie wasn’t slowing down. Eddie closed his eyes, fearing for his life. They were going to crash. This was how he was going to die, skydiving recklessly into the edge of an island all because he trusted this mysterious stranger.

But then they stopped. Eddie felt himself floating down gently, his bottom hitting the sandy shore. He opened his eyes, gasping for breath, and fumbled for the inhaler in his jacket pocket. He pulled it out and put it in his mouth, pushing the dispenser and sucking the medicine into his lungs. 

“What is that?” he heard Richie question. He felt his breathing begin to even out.

“It’s my inhaler,” he answered. “It helps me breath. I have asthma.”

“Asthma,” Richie said. “Never heard of her.” He took the aspirator out of Eddie’s hand and placed it into his mouth, pushing the dispenser down as he had watched Eddie do. 

“Ack! Ugh!” he spat, horror and disgust crossing his features. “What is that?” he shouted, tossing the inhaler several feet down the beach. “It tastes awful,” he stated. “Why would you eat that?”

Eddie felt himself fill with anger at Richie’s actions and stood up to face him. “It’s not food, you idiot!” he shouted. “It’s medicine! And you just threw it twenty feet down the beach!”

Richie stepped closer, looming over Eddie.

“You’re a feisty one, aren’t ya Eds?” he laughed, then pushed past Eddie down the beach in the direction he had thrown the aspirator. “Come on!” he shouted. “If it means that much to you.”

Eddie scrambled after him, short legs racing to keep up with Richie’s long strides. They began searching in the sand for the inhaler, Eddie down on his hands and knees and Richie circling around him. 

“Found it!” Eddie said, spotting it laying in the sand about ten feet away. He began to crawl over to it, when he noticed a large, red ‘X’ marked in the sand next to it.

“Richie?” he called. “What’s this?”

Richie rushed over to Eddie, eyes wide as he took in the sight before him.

“Oh no,” he said, glancing around frantically. “We need to go.”

“What? Why?” Eddie questioned.

“ _Now_!” Richie shouted. 

Eddie quickly grabbed his inhaler and followed Richie off of the beach and into the jungle. Richie found a large rock and crouched down behind it, pulling Eddie down next to him.

“Why are we hiding?” Eddie asked. “What’s wrong?”

Richie met his eyes then pointed to the spot of the beach where they had just been. A large boat had appeared in the distance and was sailing towards the beach.

“Pirates,” he said.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Would you like an adventure now, or would you like to have your tea first?”

In movies, it always seemed as if pirate ships were full of hundreds of crew members ready to ransack and pillage small towns. Eddie was sure, that even from their hiding spot in the jungle, the pirates would see them. They would be walking the plank and fed to crocodiles before Richie even had time to show him around the island. But, as he watched the boat come ashore, he noticed that the top deck was completely empty. If this was a pirate ship, and it certainly looked like one, then where was the crew? 

“Richie-”

“Shh! Quiet!” Richie slapped his large palm over Eddie’s mouth, silencing him, and pointed towards the side of the boat, where a large wooden plank was being slid down the side of the ship and onto shore. Eddie watched carefully as a young man stepped out onto it and began to descend to the beach. He was tall, much taller than himself and perhaps even Richie. He wore large black boots with a brown leather vest and a black captain’s hat. The most distinguishing feature, however, was the black eye patch across his left eye. 

“Bowers,” Richie whispered into his ear. 

Three more figures walked off of the boat and down onto the beach. One was even taller than Bowers, with greasy black hair. Another was thin and wiry, with bright blonde hair, and the last one was short and chubby. They were quite the odd bunch, Eddie thought, but intimidating nonetheless.

“Those are his goons,” Richie explained. “Patrick Hockstettar, Victor Criss, and Belch Huggins. Not the brightest bunch, but they can do some damage if they catch you off guard, which luckily for me, isn’t often.” Richie said the last bit with a grin.

“Maybe we should get moving,” Eddie replied, eying the group warily. They were beginning to move up the beach towards the ‘X’ where Eddie’s inhaler had been, about fifty yards away. 

“And miss all the fun?” Richie grinned, pulling a small slingshot from the front pocket of his jeans. “Never.”

“What’s that for?” 

Richie pointed to the eye patch over Captain Bowers eye, then held the slingshot up proudly. “I’m quite a good shot, Eddie Spaghetti.”

“ _You_ did that to him?” Eddie gasped, eyes wide.

“Would’ve gotten the other one too if Hockstettar hadn’t snuck up behind me,” Richie mused. “Bowers has been out to get me ever since. Has a hard time spotting me with only one eye, though.”

The misfit group of pirates had begun to dig in the sand, shouting boisterously as they did so.

“Is there really buried treasure there?” Eddie wondered aloud.

“This is _Neverland_ , Eds, of course there’s treasure buried there,” Richie replied. “The real question is what that treasure is. And we are going to wait until those idiots dig it up for us to find out.”

Eddie looked up at Richie warily. “And then what are we going to do?” he asked.

“Steal it, of course.”

“B-but stealing is bad,” Eddie stated. “It’s wrong and...immoral.” What would his mother say if she knew he was _stealing_ from people?

Richie smiled at him softly. “Not when you’re stealing from pirates, Spaghetti. They’re the biggest thieves around.”

“I don’t think that makes it okay, Richie,” he responded. If Richie was capable of stealing from pirates then who else was he capable of stealing from? 

Richie shrugged and continued to watch the pirates dig into the sand, heaving it carelessly over their shoulders. They didn’t seem to be aware of their surroundings, never mind the fact that they had two younger boys watching them from the jungle. They were so focused on the treasure, Eddie realized, that they hadn’t bothered checking if anyone else was around. Or maybe, he thought, they knew they had nothing to worry about should anyone try to sneak up on them, like Richie seemed to plan on doing.

“How, exactly, are we going to steal it from them?” Eddie questioned. His hamstring was beginning to cramp up from squatting behind the rock. He was aching to stand up and stretch his legs.

“Ah, easy. Remember my little friend?” Richie gestured to the backpack he had used to capture the shadow in earlier. Eddie nodded. “I’ll let him loose,” Richie continued, “He distracts them, we run up, grab the treasure, and run back before they even spot us.”

“And you’re sure that will work?”

“Only one way to find out,” he replied, nodding towards Captain Bowers and his crew. They had tossed their shovels aside and were beginning to haul a large wooden chest out of the hole. Eddie’s eyes widened with surprise.

“It’s really real,” he stated.

“Of course it’s real,” Richie replied. “And it’s going to be all ours.”

Richie unzipped his backpack and began dumping out its contents onto the sand. Eddie watched as a map, two more slingshots, about a dozen rubber bands, paper clips, and a Zippo fell out. But no shadow. 

“Come on,” Richie scolded, shaking the bag vigorously. “I know you’re in there.”

There was a brief flash of blackness and the shadow appeared before them, standing tall and lanky against the trees. It waved at Eddie cheerily before dashing off past them and out onto the beach. Eddie watched with amusement as the shadow began dancing in a circle around Captain Bowers and his crew before running back into the jungle again on the opposite end of the beach. He could just make out the voices of the pirates as they began yelling.

“Tozier!” he heard the fat one call.

“Get him!” Bowers yelled, and then he and his crew were running after the shadow and into the jungle.

“Works every time,” Richie laughed. “Now come on, we need to be quick.”

Richie grabbed Eddie’s hand and pulled him up. They ran on to the beach towards the treasure and each grabbed on to a handle of the chest. 

“On the count of three, lift,” Richie instructed. “One...two...three.”

Eddie pulled on the handle with as much strength as he could muster, which was, admittedly, not much. The chest barely budged.

“Well, shit.” Richie exclaimed. “If only I had some pixie dust on me, then we’d be able to lift this without a problem.” He began searching the pockets of his jeans.

“Pixie dust?” Eddie asked. 

Richie rolled his eyes. “Fairy dust.”

Eddie huffed. “Yeah, I gathered that. How is fairy dust going to help us move this thing?”

“The same way it helps me fly, Eds. Magic.” Richie had stopped patting his pockets and was emptying out his left shoe.

“Well, where are you going to find-” Eddie was cut off by a booming voice yelling across the beach.

“There! Get him!” Bowers shouted.

“Fuck.” Richie’s eyes went wide as he struggled to pull his shoe back on. “Run, Eds!”

Eddie turned to run back towards the jungle but ran straight into a large, broad figure. The tall one, Hockstetter, Richie had said, was looming over him, a devilish grin spread across his dark features. Eddie began to back up slowly and was about to turn and run when Hockstetter caught him firmly by the arm and held onto him. 

Eddie craned his neck to look for Richie, who was nowhere to be found. The beach was completely empty, not a sign of him anywhere. Eddie began to panic. Richie wouldn’t just leave him...would he? How did he manage to get away so quickly?

“Well, look what we have here,” a voice whispered lowly into this ear and spun him around by the shoulder. Captain Bowers had caught up with them and Belch and Criss weren’t far behind. 

“He was with Tozier,” Hockstetter explained. “But he’s not one of those boys he’s always prancing around with. He’s new. Never seen this one before.”

 _Boys?_ Did they mean the lost boys that Richie had mentioned?

Captain Bowers leered over him, and Eddie felt a shiver run down his spine. “Must not care much about what happens to you then, does he? What’s your name princess?”

Eddie glared at him and scanned the beach again. Still no sign of Richie.

“Silent type, eh princess?” Bowers laughed and stepped even closer to him. The one eye he could see was dark, nearly black, and he reeked of salt water and fish. 

Eddie said nothing.

“Well, that’s alright,” Bowers replied. “We’ll just have to get it out of you the hard way then, huh boys?”

The rest of the crew snickered, and before Eddie had time to wonder what Bowers meant by the ‘hard way’ he heard the faint click of a switchblade. He felt his heart drop into his stomach.

“Maybe this will help you talk,” Bowers said, holding the silver knife up to Eddie’s eye level. “Tell me where Tozier went.”

“I-I don’t know,” Eddie answered.

“Bullshit,” Bowers spat, grabbing the collar of Eddie’s jacket and pulling him closer. The knife was centimeters from his face now and he could feel himself begin to panic, the air beginning to leave his lungs.

“I-I swear,” Eddie continued. “He just took off. I don’t know where he would’ve gone.”

Captain Bowers eyed him suspiciously, then looked down at the treasure chest beneath their feet.

“You were tryin’ to steal this from me, weren’t ya?” he spat, tugging Eddie closer.

“No!” Eddie protested. “No...well, it, it was Richie’s idea. But I didn’t want to, I swear.”

“Want or not, you’re the one standing here,” Bowers replied, then looked around at his crew. “I’d say we caught him red-handed, eh boys?” The three rowdy men cheered with delight. “And,” Bowers continued, his gaze piercing as he looked at Eddie. “You know what we do to thieves who want to steal our treasure?” 

Eddie shook his head, fear beginning to seep into his bones.

Captain Bowers held up Eddie’s hand. “We cut off those pretty little fingers of yours,” he explained. “That way you can’t be stealing from us anymore.”

Eddie gulped. How could Richie leave him here? Did he know that this would happen? He should have never trusted him in the first place, never left the safety of his bedroom. The last thought that crossed Eddie’s mind as Bowers lifted the knife higher was that today was his birthday. He was going to die on his _birthday_. 

He shut his eyes and prepared himself for the worst.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Fairies have to be one thing or the other, because being so small they unfortunately have room for only one feeling at a time.”

Eddie braced himself for the pain, waiting for the knife to come down and slice through his fingers. He would have rather walked the plank and been swallowed whole by a crocodile than have his fingers chopped off. The pain would be nauseating, blood would be everywhere. He would have to create a tourniquet out of his shirt to stop the bleeding, it would-

“Ow! Shit!” Bowers swore angirly. “My fucking ass!”

Eddie opened his eyes. Bowers was bent over, holding his butt comically. The knife had fallen out of his hand to the ground, and Eddie made a quick move with his foot to brush sand over it, hiding it from view. Something small went whizzing past his eyeline and hit Belch in the side of the head.

“Ah!” Belch clapped a hand over his temple. “What the hell was that?”

Another object flew past him. A rock, he realized, and hit Hockstetter in the hand. It was followed by another, and another. Rocks were flying towards them at an alarming speed now, hitting the pirates one by one. They took turns crying out in pain as they were pelted. 

_Richie._

A rather large rock went soaring by and landed in the middle of Bowers forehead, knocking him backwards into the sand. Eddie took that as his chance and broke into a run, his shoes filling with sand as he sprinted towards the jungle.

He ran blindly past the trees, struggling to catch his breath but too afraid to stop, fearing that the pirates would catch up to him again. He dodged skillfully around a large bush, but then his foot caught on a tree root and he went sprawling out on the jungle floor. 

“Ah!” he cried out as a sharp pain shot through his right ankle. He sat up slowly, twisting himself around to inspect the injury. It wasn’t broken, just sprained, but it would be hard to walk for a while. Maybe if he could just find a place to hide until Bowers was gone....

He heard a twig snap a few feet behind him and froze with fear. 

“Eddie? Where are you?” he heard Richie called out. 

“I’m down here,” he replied, sighing with relief. “I tripped and hurt my ankle. I-I’m not sure I can walk.”

Richie came into view, rounding the bush that Eddie had run past just minutes ago. He crouched down in front of him, inspecting Eddie’s ankle. It was beginning to swell.

“I don’t suppose you have any bandages in that backpack, do you?” Eddie mused.

Richie shook his head. “No, but Bev should be able to help you out. We just have to get to her.” He slid the bag off his shoulder and handed it to Eddie. “Here, put this on.”

Eddie did as he was told and Richie held out a hand to him. He let Richie pull him to his feet, careful not to put any weight on his right foot.

“Richie, I told you, I can’t walk-”

Richie turned around so his back was facing him, and crouched down.

“Hop on,” he said, looking over his shoulder at Eddie. And oh, Richie wanted to _carry_ him.

“I uh, maybe we can find a walking stick or something. I’m really pretty heavy,” he insisted. Richie was tall, but he was skinny. There was no way he would be able to-

Richie grabbed onto the back of Eddie’s thighs and lifted him up onto his back. Eddie quickly wrapped his arms around Richie’s neck, afraid he was going to fall backwards, and shifted himself up higher on Richie’s hips.

“Ready, Spaghetti?” Richie grinned, turning his head to catch Eddie’s bewildered expression. Eddie nodded and they began walking deeper into the jungle. 

 

*** 

 

Richie navigated the jungle effortlessly, knowing exactly where to turn and which paths to avoid. If he was struggling with Eddie’s weight, he was showing no sign of it. The pain in Eddie’s ankle was slowly subsiding but he didn’t mind being carried. Occasionally a strand of Richie’s long, unruly hair found it’s way into his mouth, but it didn’t bother him. He felt strangely safe on Richie’s back, and he was using the added height to his advantage, taking in the sights around them. Neverland really was beautiful. The trees were large, with ropy vines hanging above them in every direction. The sky was a beautiful, electric blue littered with crisp, white clouds, the sun in the middle radiating high over the island. Surrounding their feet there were hundreds of plants and flowers, everything from delicate white orchids to violet passion fruit flowers and tall reeds. He could hear birds chirping overhead and the faint rush of water. He was thankful he had actually gotten the chance to see something so beautiful.

“Hey,” he spoke softly into Richie’s ear. “Thanks for saving me earlier. From Bowers. I thought he was going to cut off my fingers.”

“He would’ve,” Richie responded blatantly. “If we didn’t get you out of there. Besides, what kind of friend would I be if I left you?”

_Friend_. His heart soared at the word. 

“Well, either way, thank you.” Eddie adjusted the strap of the backpack over his shoulder. “I, um, don’t really have friends at my school.”

“School?” Richie questioned, the word completely foreign to him.

“Yeah, where I go to learn. Don’t you go to school?” 

Richie shook his head. “What do you learn there? How to fight?”

“No!” Eddie laughed. “Reading, writing, math, history.”

“I already know those things,” Richie replied, ducking carefully underneath a low hanging vine. “I don’t need to go to _‘school’_ for them. Seems silly. They should teach you useful things, like how to fight and steer a ship.”

“They should,” Eddie agreed, chuckling again. 

“How come you have no friends at school? Do they live somewhere else?” Richie asked, shifting Eddie higher on his hips. 

“No, there’s a lot of other kids at my school. I’m just...weird to them, I guess. They don’t really like me.”

Richie’s brows furrowed at this. “I like you,” he said definitively. 

Eddie felt himself blush at this and was thankful that Richie couldn’t see his face. The idea of having an actual friend was exciting to him, but also bittersweet given the circumstances. He would have to go home soon. His mother was probably getting worried, if she hadn’t already phoned the police.

“Home sweet home,” Richie announced as they stepped out into a large clearing. There was a circle of trees surrounding the clearing, each one with a large treehouse built into the top of it, nestled among the branches. Eddie noticed the largest one was in the middle and the words ‘Lost Boys, Keep Out’ were painted on the door in red lettering.

“This is our hideout,” Richie explained. There was a tall lookout tower in the middle of the clearing and a long clothes line stretched from one end to the other. It was obvious that a group of people lived here. Eddie was about to ask which treehouse Richie lived in when he felt something pinch his ear lobe.

“Ow!” he shouted, bringing a hand up to cover his ear. Just as he did so, he felt a pinch in the same spot on his other ear.

“Bev! Cut it out!” Richie scolded. “That’s no way to treat a guest.” He crouched down and Eddie slid off of his back and sat on the ground. 

Eddie could now see a small fairy, no bigger than his hand, floating in the air next to Richie’s shoulder. She had fiery red hair and piercing blue eyes. She wore a simple green dress and brown combat boots on her feet. She glared at Eddie as her wings fluttered about and he felt himself shrink back under her gaze. He had never been intimidated by something so tiny before.

“Beverly,” Richie reprimanded her again. “I know you’re mad, but it’s not his fault I was gone for so long.”

The tiny fairy huffed, crossing her arms and turning to flick Richie in the forehead. Before she could do so, he caught her in his fist.

“Hey, come on now,” he said gently. “I brought you a present.”

Bev seemed to light up at this, squeezing herself out of Richie’s hand and flying around his head excitedly. Richie gestured to the backpack. Eddie took the bag off and handed it over. He watched as Richie opened the front pocket and pulled out an empty spool of thread. 

“A chair,” Richie offered, holding it out in his palm for Bev to examine. She studied it carefully, then gave him a big smile and wrapped her arms around his thumb as if she were giving him a hug. 

Richie looked to Eddie. “She’s been looking for furniture for her room,” he explained. Eddie nodded, as if fairies who used empty sewing reels for furniture was a perfectly normal thing.

“We need your help, Bev,” Richie told her. “Had a nasty run in with Bowers and his crew, and Eddie here hurt his ankle. Think some pixie dust might fix him up?”

Bev flew down towards Eddie’s ankle and began to rub her palms together. Slowly, small, sparkly specks of dust began to fall from her hands and onto the wound. He watched with amazement as the dull throbbing pain began to disappear completely. He rotated his ankle cautiously. It felt great, as good as new.

He made to stand up, but instead felt himself float up off of the ground and into the air, slowly flying up into the sky. 

“Uh, Richie?” he called hesitantly, rising higher. “How do I get down!?”

Richie grabbed onto his pant leg and pulled him back down to the ground, putting two hands on his shoulders to keep him planted there.

“Sorry, Eds, that’ll happen sometimes with pixie dust.” He looked down into Eddie’s eyes with a smile.

Eddie looked towards Bev again, who had taken the spool of thread and was beginning to lug it towards the main treehouse, holding it over her head with as much strength as she could.

“Does she talk?” Eddie asked Richie. Richie shook his head.

“Not with words. But you’ll slowly begin to understand her.”

“Is she always that angry?” he whispered quietly, hoping the small fairy wouldn’t hear him.

Richie laughed. “Fairies are complicated,” he said. “They can only feel so many things at once. She’s happy most of the time, but when she’s alone for too long she can tend to get angry or upset, and when she does, watch out.”

Eddie hummed at this, looking around at the treehouses once again.

“Where’s everybody else?” he wondered aloud.

“The lost boys, you mean?” Richie began walking towards a small treehouse on the right side of the jungle. It was painted blue and red and there was a large wooden ladder built into the tree leading up to it. “They’re around. Probably on an adventure. They’ll be back for supper, though.” 

Eddie nodded and began to follow Richie up the ladder to the treehouse. He had a feeling he wasn't going to be leaving any time soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think?


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “I taught you to fight and to fly. What more could there be?”

“Welcome, Eddie Spaghetti,” Richie grinned, arms open wide, “to my humble abode!”

The inside of the treehouse was unlike anything Eddie had ever seen before. It was about the size of his own bedroom at home, but instead of a bed, there was a large knit hammock hung from the ceiling in the left hand corner, and a cozy white canopy draped above it to create a comfortable sleeping area. On the opposite end of the treehouse there was a large metal wash bin and a wooden cabinet filled with what Eddie assumed were Richie’s clothes. In between the two there was a small table and set of chairs, and a small window that overlooked the jungle below. It was certainly a cozy place to call home. What stood out most about the treehouse, however, were the dozens of trinkets cluttered along the walls and shelves, everything from treasure chests and jewelry to candles, books, and wood carvings. Eddie looked around in amazement.

“It’s not much,” Richie said. “But it’s mine.”

“It’s amazing,” Eddie replied, examining a large sword that hung on the wall. It was skinny with a small black handle. He ran his fingers along it’s thin blade slowly, admiring the shiny, cool metal. He turned back to Richie.

“Do you actually know how to use this?” he asked him.

“Course’ I do.” Richie grinned, then reached above Eddie’s head to take the sword off the wall. He did a quick fighting pose, pointing the sword at Eddie as if he were about to duel, then lowered it and held it out for Eddie to hold. The sword was surprisingly light, and Eddie felt oddly at ease holding it.

“I could teach you sometime, you know,” Richie offered, taking the sword and hanging it back up on the wall. “How to fight. Comes in handy with all these pirates hanging around.”

Eddie smiled. “I’d like that, Rich.”

Richie’s gaze met his briefly with a hint of amusement and something else that Eddie couldn’t quite make out, before drifting to the hammock.

“You must be tired,” Richie stated. “You can take a nap if you want. Supper won’t be ready for another couple of hours.”

Eddie nodded and made his way towards the makeshift bed. He kicked off his shoes, still filled with sand from the beach, and lowered himself onto the hammock carefully.

“Here,” Richie said, holding out a soft blue knit blanket. Eddie took it and sprawled himself out on the hammock. 

Richie smiled down at him then moved to the other end of the treehouse. Eddie watched as Richie kicked off his own shoes and took off the bright Hawaiian shirt, tossing it into the wash bin. He took off his glasses, then reached down to the hem of his undershirt and pulled it up over his head, revealing a tanned chest and toned stomach. Eddie felt his mouth go dry. Richie wasn’t ugly, but any means, but seeing him like this, half naked without his glasses, he was well, _handsome_. His gaze drifted from Richie’s face down his torso, admiring the lithe muscles. There was a long white scar that ran along the side of his ribcage, and a few smaller ones across his chest and stomach. Eddie wondered how he had gotten them. Richie reached down and began to undo the button of his jeans. 

Eddie looked away, not wanting to be caught staring, and turned his body to face the wall. He felt an odd sensation stir in the pit of his stomach and willed it to go away, squeezing his eyes shut tightly. He was still in his pajamas, he realized. He would have to see if there were any spare clothes he could borrow when he woke up. He would also have to find a way to get in touch with his mother. For now though, he was far too comfy and his eyes were heavy with sleep. He began to drift off, rocked back and forth by the swaying of the hammock. 

 

*** 

 

“Eds, wake up.”

Eddie felt someone shake his shoulder gently.

“Come on, sleepyhead,” Richie called out to him. 

Eddie blinked open his eyes. Richie was looming over him, a wide grin on his face. He had changed into a pair of black jeans and a dark green, long sleeved shirt that hugged his torso tightly. His mop of dark hair was now tamed underneath a dark green beanie. He was holding out a pile of clothes to Eddie. 

“I don’t think anything of mine will fit you,” he stated, “but these are some of Stan’s old clothes. Should be about your size.”

Eddie sat up and took the pile of clothing. Navy shorts, a white t-shirt, and a light blue hoodie. They still seemed a bit big for him, but they would have to do.

“Dinner’s just about ready,” Richie said. “Ben and Mike are just finishing it up. Everybody’s excited to meet you. They love having guests.”

Eddie stood up and made to take off his shirt, but then stopped and looked up at Richie shyly, embarrassed that he was so self-conscious about undressing in front of the boy who had done so so carelessly earlier. No one besides his mother had ever really seen him shirtless. Even at school, he would always wait until the locker room was nearly empty to change.

Richie looked at him blankly.

“Sorry,” Eddie blushed. “Do you think you could…” He spun his finger around in a circle.

“Oh,” Richie exclaimed, cheeks heating up as well. “Uh, yeah, sure, Eds. I’ll just be outside. Come down when you’re ready.”

Richie gave him a quick salute and headed down the ladder of the treehouse.

Eddie changed quickly, folding his pajamas into a neat pile and setting them down beside the hammock. He carefully stepped outside the treehouse and maneuvered his way down the ladder. It was dusk now, the sun just beginning to set, and there was a cool breeze that sent a shiver down his spine and made him wish he had been given a pair of pants instead of shorts. He could smell something delicious wafting through the clearing. Beside the lookout tower, there was a large fire roaring with a big stew pot hanging over it. There was a group of boys standing around the fire, two of them were adding ingredients into the pot and the others were listening to Richie talking animatedly. Bev was fluttering above them in a circle, her wings glistening against the light of the fire.

“And then Bowers shouts ‘My fucking ass!’ and I started slinging dozens of rocks at them!” Richie was mimicking using the slingshot, his voice carrying across the clearing. “You shoulda seen his face boys!”

The boys were all laughing at Richie’s retelling of what had happened on the beach earlier. Richie caught Eddie’s gaze out of the corner of his eyes and waved him over.

“Eddie spaghetti!” he shouted. “Come meet the Lost Boys!” He slung an arm around Eddie’s shoulder, pulling him into his side. It was warmer next to the fire and Richie was radiating heat. Eddie cuddled into him a bit.

“This is Bill,” Richie said, introducing him to the tallest of the boys, although none of them were as tall as Richie. Bill had soft blue eyes and sandy brown hair. 

“H-hi Eddie, n-n-nice to m-meet you,” Bill stuttered. Eddie smiled.

"Hello."

Richie gestured to the boy next to Bill, who was slightly shorter with curly brown hair. “This is Stan the man.”

Stan waved at him and Eddie returned it, making sure to thank him for lending him the spare set of clothes he was currently wearing.

“Not a problem,” Stan assured him.

“And our two resident chefs over there are Ben and Mike,” Richie introduced. Ben was a larger boy, with a rounded tummy. He was currently feeding small pieces of vegetables to Bev, tossing them in the air for her to catch. Mike, who seemed to be a bit older than the rest of the boys, was busy manning the stew.

“We’ve heard a lot about you, Eddie,” Mike said with a sly smile, stirring the soup carefully. 

“Yeah,” Bill interjected. “Y-you g-guh-guys had quite the ad-adventure getting here.”

“It’s always an adventure when I’m around,” Richie grinned, and sat down on one of the large logs surrounding the campfire. He pulled Eddie down next to him.

“So,” Eddie began, looking around the fire at the other boys. “Did you guys all run away from home too?”

“What do you mean?” Ben asked. “This is our home.”

Eddie blinked. Each of the boys were staring at him with confusion. 

“Well, maybe now,” Eddie replied. “But, I mean, obviously you guys weren’t born here. Richie said no one ever…”

Richie shushed him quietly and leaned down to whisper in his ear. “They’ve been here for a long time, Eds. They don’t really remember their old lives.”

“But,” Eddie began, “Why wouldn’t they-”

“Soups up!” Mike shouted.

Eddie looked back at Richie, who was staring at him with a look that said _we’ll talk about this later_. Richie stood up and grabbed a set of bowls from beside the fire, filling them up with soup and handing one to Eddie, who took it gratefully. He was starving, and the soup was absolutely delicious.

“So, Richie,” Mike spoke. “Now that you’re back in Neverland what are we going to do? What big adventure awaits us?”

Richie slurped his soup loudly and kicked his feet up on a rock. “Well, boys. I’m determined to find out what was in that treasure chest Bowers found earlier.”

Eddie frowned. He didn’t really want anything to do with pirates and treasure after his run-in with them earlier.

“Do we have to right away?” Stan says. “The water at the lagoon is starting to warm up. We can go for a swim tomorrow.”

Bill nods in agreement. “The mer-mermaids have been a-asking for you, R-Richie.”

Eddie perked up at that. “Mermaids?”

Richie grinned down at him, then looked to the rest of the boys. “That settles it then, tomorrow we go for a swim.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lost Boys hideout: https://www.luismelo.net/fullscreen-page/comp-j89c7fhg/fe5c7047-bb5f-4389-b22d-f107db39dc8e/11/%3Fi%3D11%26p%3D%26s%3D


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